Japan 1 - 1 Bolivia

Date: July 5, 1999 Location: Rio Parapiti, Paraguay Japan 0 1H 0 1 2H 1 Bolivia Wagner Lopez (73') Scoring Erwin Sanchez (53') Masami Ihara (21') Ryuzo Morioka (74') Masami Ihara (83') Cautions Jan Manuel Pefla (72') Masami Ihara (83') Sent Off Oscar Carmelo Sanchez (44') Seigo Narazaki, Masami Ihara, Yutaka Akita, Ryuzo Morioka, Toshihiro Hattori, Teruyoshi Ito, Shigeyoshi Mochizuki, Hiroshi Nanami (Atsuhiro Miura 67), Toshiya Fujita (Daisuke Oku 64), Wagner Lopez, Masayuki Okano (Shoji Jo 64) Jose Carlo Fernandez, Juan Manuel Pefla, Oscar Carmelo Sanchez, Ivan Sabino Castillo Salinas (Marco Etcheverry 76), Remy Riveira Vaca, Limberg Guttierez Marichal, Ruben Dario Tufino Schwenk, Luis Hector Cristaldo Ruiz, Erwin Sanchez, Jaime Morales, Victor Hugo Barba (Gustavbo Domingo Quinteros 46)

In their final match of Japan's ill-fated adventure in South America, at the 1999 Copa America, Japan faced off against the middow of the group, Bolivia, and managed to get their lone point of the tournament in a 1-1 draw. The match was quite scrappy, with one player from each side sent off, but Japan seemed to have the slight edge in ball control and scoring chances. If Masayuki Okano, Shoji Jo and Wagner Lopes had not squandered so many scoring opportunities, Japan might even have managed a victory.

Japn got a break in on the stroke of half time, when defender Oscar Sanchez wiped out Masayuki Okano with a studs-up, tackle from behind, and was shown an immediate red card. However, Japan failed to capitalise on their opportunities early in the second half, much to the frustration of Troussier, who pulled Fujita, Okano and Nanami all within the space of three minutes. Bolivia were the team that managed to score first, on a well-placed free kick by Erwin Sanchez.

Finally, in the 73 minute, Daisuke Oku managed to crack the Paraguay defence and broke in on goal, only to be hauled down in the box. Wagner Lopez converted the resulting PK to level the score, and it looked like Japan were on the road to a possible victory. But just a few minutes later, those hopes were dashed as Masami Ihara earned his second yellow of the match and the two teams went back to even strength. Japan wasted several golden opportunities late in the match, and were forced to return home with just a single point to show for their efforts.